Ok, this is really taking engineering things a little too far. The one liter EcoBoost has just three cylinders to begin with but Ford has now cylinder deactivation technology and can make it run on just two of them.

Ford’s engineers have come up with a new way of increasing fuel efficiency and cutting CO2 emissions – the small turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder unit from the EcoBoost family is getting cylinder deactivation technology. It will come into effect early 2018 and of course the Blue Oval company is the first carmaker in the world to feature the technology on a three-cylinder motor. When the full engine prowess is unneeded – coasting or cruising with very little demand – the first cylinder will be automatically deactivated and efficiency will go up by up to six percent.

Fuel delivery and valve operation can be stopped as quickly as you can read 14 milliseconds, which is actually 20 times faster than blinking. Ford says the driver won’t even notice the difference because coming into operation again will require the same amount of time. Ford’s engineers from Germany, UK and the US worked with Schaeffler Group for the technology, which also needs new software to detect when the activation/deactivation needs to take place.